Texas school shooting raises questions about lack of red flag laws in Pennsylvania
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) — Some say tragic mass shootings could be prevented if states adopted so-called red flag laws.
A red flag law would allow police to confiscate guns from someone who shows intent to harm themselves or others. In the aftermath of the shootings in Buffalo and Uvalde, the shooters are revealed to be deeply disturbed and had some measure of advanced planning.
Were there warning signs and did the police have the power to act?
"Could you imagine? Just one time, you take a gun out of the hands of someone like that and it saves a massacre," state Sen. Wayne Fontana said.
Fontana has been a longtime sponsor of a red flag bill in Pennsylvania, which would allow police to confiscate guns from a potential killer and schedule a hearing in front of a judge who could keep them away for a year's time.
Fontana said the measure has broad public support, but he can't get it to a vote in the Legislature.
New York has a red flag law, but even though the shooter in Buffalo wrote a manifesto of hate prior to the massacre, no one alerted the police.
Like Pennsylvania, Texas has no red flag law, and the signs were not as clear. The suspect announced his intent on social media only 30 minutes before the shooting.
"The red flag law is not going to change anything there," Jim Stoker of Firearms Owners Against Crime. "The red flag law basically tramples someone's rights and makes you fight to get them back."
Gun rights advocates said mentally unstable people who pose a threat can already be involuntarily committed. They contend a red flag law would violate a person's Second Amendment rights and be easily misused by an enemy of a gun owner.
"This is going to be used by spiteful partners in relationships gone south or maybe even as pranks," Stoker said.
"This isn't about being a snitch," Fontana said. "This is about preventing murders."
Fontana said the Republican-led Legislature won't allow a vote, so now he's calling on Governor Tom Wolf to order a special session to force the issue.